City chief questions decision following mass sacking of ferry workers
The leader of Portsmouth City Council has questioned the inclusion of a DP World representative on the Solent Freeport board
Last updated 24th Mar 2022
The leader of Portsmouth City Council has questioned the inclusion of a DP World representative on the Solent Freeport board due to its ties with the ‘disgraceful’ mass sacking of P&O Ferries workers last week.
Responding to a request from Labour councillors, Gerald Vernon-Jackson, who also sits on the board, has echoed concerns about the suitability of giving the company a senior position in influencing the creation of the freeport.
DP World, the parent company of P&O Ferries which last week controversially sacked 800 of its workers over a video call, owns the deep water terminal at the Port of Southampton.
As a result, its UK commercial director Aart Hillie Ris Lambers was given one of 11 board positions on Solent Freeport – more than half of its board members are councillors, including Cllr Vernon-Jackson. Portsmouth City Council is also its ‘accountable body’.
The freeport, which is forecast to create tens of thousands of jobs and provide a £2bn economic boost, covers five local authority areas and includes a tax site at Dunsbury Park and customs centre at Portsmouth’s port.
The final business case was approved by city councillors last week ahead of its submission to the government.
The letter signed by the Labour group said the council had to ensure ‘good governance’ on the freeport board and that the actions taken by P&O Ferries made its inclusion on the board unacceptable.
‘Any organisation which sacks 800 staff over a video call and seeks to immediately replace them by exploiting cheaper labour, is clearly not committed to the kind of good governance you previously assured us would be a key feature of the freeport arrangements,’ it said.
‘We are therefore calling on you to use your position as leader of the Solent Freeport accountable body to request the removal of the DP World UK commercial director from their role on the Solent Freeport board.’
The letter also requested legal agreements to include guarantees on ‘decent minimum employment standards’, such as payment of the real living wage and collective bargaining rights, for any firm operating within the freeport.
It added: ‘Any company which mistreats working people in this way should have nothing to do with our council owned port, nor anything to do with our city.’
Cllr Vernon-Jackson said he shared their concerns about the mass sacking last week.
‘I thought it was a disgrace and the points raised in the letter are very understandable’ he said.
He added: ‘That board position is a legacy of the early stages of the freeport but DP World’s terminal is no longer included as either a customs or tax site. They have no part in the freeport.’
However, he said the board position had been used by Mr Lambers.
DP World has been contacted for comment.